Lake Bryanthus mystery

January 15, 2025

Lake Bryanthus mystery

For years, we have wondered about this photograph at the local museum and at a local historic home.

The tag on it led us to believe that it is Mt. Shinn, which was named after Charles Howard Shinn after his death. HOWEVER, it is not!

After some Google Earth sleuthing in the area of Mt. Shinn by map-man Stuart, he found that it is not Shinn Lake AT ALL!

But where was it?

[To see Mt. Shinn, see this post.]

A reverse Google image brought up a similar photo with a caption "Bryanthus Lake near Kings River Canon, Cal"

So we can be assured that it is actually a photograph of Lake Bryanthus, not Mt. Shinn. The little mountain bump is perhaps un-named, but it is not Mt. Shinn. Lake Bryanthus has been renamed Bullfrog Lake. Photos taken in the area on Google maps show a pretty similar viewpoint that looks much the same today.

From Google maps 01/19/2025. This may not be a permanent link.
To find more photos of Bullfrog Lake, go to Google Maps
and search for Bullfrog Lake. Then click on "Photo and Videos"

More fun stuff about the lake

Sierra Club

Sierra Club trip - San Francisco Call, 24 August 1902

In 1902 there was a Sierra Club visit to the area. note that the "Alpine Lake" (bottom left) is Lake Bryanthus! Great article that shows what activities there were, including Vaudeville.

Were there any local people on this trip?

Charles Howard Shinn was a charter member of the Sierra Club. His younger brother, Joseph, and Joe's wife, Florence, were active members in the Sierra Club. There are many photos of their trips to the Sierra. Perhaps we will find records of a trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks.

This trip was before Joe and Florence were married in 1905. We do know they went on trips before and after marriage. Charles was in transition between Inspector of the UC Experiment Stations and Forest Ranger of the Sierra National Forest. William Patterson was (according to Joe T. a member of the Sierra Club).

Southern Pacific Travel Guide

Kings and Kern Canyons and the giant forest of California 1906 Southern Pacific booklet.

on page 24-25

the photographers' shadows on bottom left! Hi!

More and More on Bullfrog Lake and Sierra Club trips

From Sierra Club Bulletin 1897-1899, the article "Exploration of the East Creek Amphitheater" taken in 1898, reported in January 1899 mentions Joseph Shinn.

..,

Some diagrams and photos...

some fun tree graphs

Joseph wrote an article about the trip Oakland Tribune 8/2/1898

“SIERRA SCRAMBLES. An Unusual Trip in the California Alps. One Tall Peak is Named for Prof. Bradley. Mrs. R. M. Price and Miss Harris of Centerville Prove Themselves Capital Mountaineers.

The following record of a mountain trip which was one of more than usual interest and quite exceptional adventure was written by Mr. J. C. Shinn of Niles, who was a member of the party:

The party consisted of R. M. Price and Mrs. Price of Oakland, Miss Harris of Union High school No. 2, Professor C. B. Bradley, U. C., and myself. We left June 25th and got back July 24th. We went by rail to Sanger junction and by stage to Millwood, some fifty or sixty miles, where our “jacks" awaited us, and where we packed up for the rough part of the trip. From Millwood we went by plain canyon trail to Fox's in the Kings river canyon and on up to the junction of Kings river and Bubbs creek. Here trails began to get troublesome to follow and very rough and slow, and we never knew where we would land at night.
We went to the head waters of the middle fork of Bubbs creek and found ourselves in the midst of some of the wildest and grandest scenery in the Sierras. There were great mountains all round us that were from 12,000 to 14,200 feet high and several of them had never been climbed or named. We climbed three such and named the highest for Professor Bradley, and erected a cairn and placed therein a register can with data as to ascent. On Mount Keith, 14,200 feet, which had been named, but never climbed, we placed the Sierra Club register can with date of ascent also.

The ascent of Keith, 14,200, was the hardest work I ever did in my life, for the rarity of the air made breathing very difficult, and on the last peak I could only go ten paces without a rest. The rest consisted in lying flat on my back and panting for several minutes until I was able to get up and stagger on ten paces more. I, however, reached the top second, Professor Bradley being there first. Mr. and Mrs. Price came along a little later and had suffered as I had. Miss Harris tried bravely but was left far in the rear and became bewildered in the immense rocks and never got to the top.

In climbing other mountains later we none of us had such serious difficulty, and Miss Harris went up University peak and Mt. Whitney with the rest all right.

We went back Bubbs creek to Bullfrog Lake [Lake Bryanthus!!] and had very fine fishing for a couple of days; then down Bubbs creek and up the south fork, past beautiful East Lake, and began our roughest work—the approach and ascent of Harrison pass. There is no regular trail to it and it is seldom used by anything but bands of sheep and that, as I imagine, in the other and easier direction, viz. from Kern to the Kings region.

We went the other way, up the worst place that I ever saw called a pass. The pass is a slide of sand and rocks on a basis of frozen mountain-side, and our jacks had sense enough to balk before they had gone twenty feet on the pass proper (or improper). They could not be made go at all until all the loads were taken off and after getting the jacks up with much labor and beating we had to carry our goods up the nearly perpendicular slide of some 400 or 500 feet.
All this was at an altitude of between 12,000 and 13,000 feet and at the end of a hard day's work climbing and building trail, and after making several trips up we found that it was a physical impossibility to get the whole of the goods up before dark, so we went into camp at the nearest point where any wood could be found, about a thousand feet lower on the Kern side of the pass and a couple of miles to the south. Here we camped by a lake on a wet meadow, and managed to get enough heat out of the dead remains of a few stunted willow bushes that the sheep had killed, to cook something.
We were still far above timber line. In the night it rained and Professor Bradley and I, who had elected to sleep on the soft side of a smooth topped granite boulder, and had found it very comfortable, thought we had the best of those who slept on the wet grass.
The next morning we went back to the pass and carried the rest of our belongings up, and one of the party ascended Mount Stanford, while Professor Bradley and myself made an attempt to climb Junction Peak, which was balked by the fog and later by a violent hail storm.
From this region we went south to the Whitney region and climbed that mountain, the highest in the United States, outside of Alaska, 14,500 feet. This ascent was very easy and we made it in good time and found by the records in the register can that a good many other people had been there. We went from here to Whitney creek and had fine fishing, catching all that we could eat of the beautiful golden trout. These are only found in Whitney creek, I believe, though they are possibly to be found in one other creek near there. They are as brilliant in coloring as a gold fish, having a bright vermilion down the stripe side and under the belly on a yellow ground. Some speckles toward the head and tail.
From Whitney creek we went to the Kern and down it by the two lakes and out to Porterville by Hockett and Jordan trail. The last night that we camped we were over 10,000 feet above sea level and we came on foot during the day some twenty miles and came down about 8500 feet to the end of the wagon road. Here we got conveyance into Porterville, some twenty-three miles, reaching there at midnight.
The trip was a very hard one, as it was made on foot and was through some of the roughest mountains in the United States, but it was very enjoyable; everyone in the party enjoyed the whole of it and received benefit in health and strength, though all except Miss Harris lost in weight. We had a good deal of fine fishing but no hunting.”

Topo maps of the era

The 1907 Mt. Whitney topo map has it listed as Bull Frog Lake, a little easier to remember than Bryanthus. The photo and others like it can be found via reverse google search. The booklet in the Library of Congress - is an interesting railroad travel guide.

CA_Mt Whitney_299505_1907_125000.jpg
found using Topoview

Some of the other peaks around...Is Mt. Rixford named after USDA Rixford? There is a University Peak nearby. Which University? Check this LOC link when it works again.